E I Addio

I would say Nilsson is probably nailed on.not a genuine hear 15 rider yet and still needs consistency away but he has increased his average year on year and as he is not a double upper should be available for most matches except GP qualifiers. Was riding well until he dot injured in Sweden last season and his a. Club asset so looks very likely. I would say that whether Ed and Rich come back depends on there availability as d/u riders. Mikkel Bech is potentially a great talent but whether he now has the mental focus to realise that talent is now open to question. He has come in for some criticism about his attitude. The big question is who will the second heatleader be ? Batchelor Bjerre or Watt ? I can't think of any other British based riders who are likely to be available (unless it's Nicki P).

Ah, this is where it gets a bit technical. If the rakers know what they are doing they wouldn't do much to bends 1 and 3 because riders are still sliding into the bends at those points. There should be a bit more dirt on bends 2 and 4 where the bikes are picking up more drive on the exit, but ideally they should watch where the tractor is dragging the dirt. I haven't been to Coventry for a while now but the last few times I went there were no rakers and the tractor was more or less following the arc of the bends down not really dragging much over so it didn't really do much for the racing. I suppose that might be the reason Cov fans come on here more than most complaining about poor track prep too much tractor racing and late finishing meetings. You should know by now that that is a Tatum euphemism for "This visiting side are rubbish and are going to get a tonking but I have to tell the punters something to stop them turning off too early and killing the advertising revenue." ! If a track doesn't produce good racing it is basically only going to hurt that particular promoter whether it is big or smali so it's not the sort of thing a central body can legislate on. Anyway track size is dictated more by FIM rules than BSPA rules and I very much doubt that the A CU would back the SCB if they tried to makes rules on track si size that were more restrictive than the FIM if a promoter appealed. Cardiff is a small tight track of well under 300 metres and it gets the biggest crowd anywhere so I don't think your argument on track size stands up

No as I said before tracks can't be prepared consistently because our weather is not consistent..that doesn't necessarily excuse poor preparation, but it is why the track is not always the same.

Rosco has said there is likely to be a move towards two nights EL, Speedwáy but it can't be done right away. This is is part of the problem with this forum, people are content to read between the lines and pick up on a bit of gossip but don't look out for specific comment. It's not something that the AGM will make rules on but it's for individual promoters to decide on race nights.. It looks as though there will be a gradual move towards Thurs/Fri or Weds /Fri race nights over the course of a few seasons. I understand Belle Vuw want to move to Friday once they have their own stadium, so no doubt others will follow suit as and when they can , but it's not an AGM matter , at least not for rules or preliminary announcements, especially when the AGM is not even finalised yet. The BSPA have enough to answer for without making up complaints based on gossip.

You are right about track prep, but there is no easy answer, even though Stoke Potter seems to think there is. The first problem is that there are less and less track curators with the adequate training and experience to prepare a decent track. It is a bit of a dying art and I use the word art because it is more art than science, in the sense that there is no hard and fast rule of how to prepare a track. Some men have a natural ability to do the job and some don't. So one thing the sport needs to address is the diminishing number of decent track men . The next problem is why should anyone want to be a track curator ? There is no money in it and it's not a job that can be done in 5 minutes before the start of the meeting. It means the track man ideally has to be someone who can spare a fair amount of time for not much financial reward. N ext is the lack of volunteer track staff at some tracks . Some venues appear to have done away with track rakers. For track to be done properly you need track rakers who work in conjunction with the tractor and understand what the curator on the tractor is doing . There is more to the job than simply dragging a rake across. The final problem lies with some of the fans themselves. I have found that many of the most vociferous complainers are those who choose not to understand not to understand or learn anything about track prep because it's easier to complain if you ignore the difficulties. The reality is that British weather mean you can rarely prepare a track the same way every week.if for example there is a threat of rain or if it has been raining the track will need to be prepared differently to a warm dry evening, and sometimes preparing a track to track in difficult weather mean a compromise between less than ideal racing or not having a meeting at all. Speedwáy certainly has problems that need to be addressed , there is no doubt about that, but the fact remains that British weather has always played an integral part in the product the fans see, and it is very difficult to do anything about that.

Well someone has to replace Hans, so who better than Lewis ?

Mikkel Bech ? I don't think he will be back at Lakeside next year.

Who are thes are these re liable sources then ? Not KKS by any chance is it ? Nothing was said about AJ being on a two year deal when he was first signed. Why would he signed on two year deal when Lakeside didn't even know if they had a track in 2016 ? The sequence of events as I recall them was that Jon Cook came on the mic mid season or thereabouts and said AJ had just told him he wanted to come back in 2016 but the actual confirmation was not given until it was confirmed Lakeside would be running in 2016

On reading carefully, it is a bit ambiguous. On page 167 Len says stadium owner was Eddie Lesleyand goes on " ... He made it clear that the STADIUM was for SALE rather than for RENT." On page 168 he quotes Eddie Lesley as saying " I want to sell the STADIUM" I.e. Not the lease. Len goes on "I agreed to rent the stadium for £500 meeting with the option to purchase for £500,000 ." Then on page 170 he says "we completed the purchase on 14 July 2000-with a long term lease until 2035" . Then the next day he gave the stock car promoter Mark Easton notice to quit. So it is not totally clear . He mentions several times that Eddie Leslie was the stadium owner and says nothing about Lee Valley Park Authority at all. Bearing in mind that it is a leisure area maybe the park authority own the land which is on lease and the stadium is owned by Silver. W hat ever the actual situation the one thing that is clear is that he didn't buy the lease from the stock car promoter, Anyway it's been a diversion from the thread, Sorry about that.

Most things in life boil down to who you choose to believe. Most people use their powers of reason when coming to a decision. If Len only bought the lease (assuming there ever was a lease as such which seems unlikely) then Len would not be the owner of the stadium, he would only hold a lease on it and if he was only a leaseholder why on earth would he spend o fortune turning the stadium from a near rubbish tip to a presentable venue ? Only as owner would he get a return on his investment. In addition,why would Len spend a whole chapter of his book describing the events leading up to the purchase of the stadium including what he paid for it and what he spent on renovation if it were not true and he only leased it? Why would he make the whole thing chapter up? Len might be a lot of controversial things but he is not normally regarded as an outright liar. Ace journalist gustix might be prepared to accept the invalidated second hand comments of a website but I think most people who use their powers of reason would acknowledge the authenticity of the. version of someone who for all his faults has poured far more into Speedwáy than he has taken out.

I don't know why people are getting confused over the 6.50 averages. It only applies to new foreign riders, not established UK riders. Why does it only apply to new foreign riders ? Think it through. If they are new riders they will be on assessed averages based on Swedish and Polish leagues which are not necessarily indicators of how well they will do in the UK heat format. For the UK there is a performance record on which to judge. There won't be many (any) promoters prepared to take a gamble on a new and untried foreigner on a relatively high average of 6.5 as heatleader on under the present heat formula, unless it is someone very special. All the likely foreigners have averages anyway. The trick, as always with new foreign riders will be to find someone on a low average that can make a big improvement.

That's because of all that Country and Western music you listen to. it dulls the senses and numbs the brain. You should have stuck with the good old Custer Mouse melodies like Knees up Muvver Brown and all the good old E16 stuff Anyway, don't believe what people tell you. Steve and Dave were both fine upstanding Poole supporters who were just a little misunderstood (as are Matt and Muddlo in fact ) Shovers disappeared from the forum about 18 moths ago and we were all a little worried at first but then we all knew he would be back when Starman posted that he would never be back. Steve was the self styled "Porn Baron and Number One Poole Fan ( or it might have been the other way round ) .He ran a respectable porno film establishment from the flat over the Post Office in Cheatford Muddlo, near Blandford Forum called Sexy Steve's Cinema of Sin, and a little antique shop in Fiddling Ford near Bridport that had an impressive collection of spoons especially the type used on the old Dorset farms for stirring manure. He went off to Rome for a short break when inspector Knacker of the Yard came down investigating reports of fraud in the Wimborne Road area.(allegedly) Poor old Dave was a former priest turned charity worker who was veritably hounded off the forum by scurrilous allegations of drug dealing. I thought he was a big hearted fellow, always very generous offering his sherbet lemons around, but he went the same way as all the hero's in your Country and Western songs :- Poor Dave is dead A candle lights his head He's looking oh so peaceful and serene The daisies in the dell. Give out a crystal meth smell Because poor Dave is underneath the ground

The trouble is it wasn't always the way it was, and some people who were around when it wasn't the way it was think the way wasn't was really the way it was as far as they are concerned and those ones who think the way it wasn't was really the way it think that those who want it the way it was are talking about the way it wasn't, and the only ones who remember the way it was were the ones around around when it was the way it was, but to the others it never was the way it was because they never saw it as it was . If you see what I mean

Yeah, I nominate Starman to mastermind the "Free Jerran Hart " campaign.

You don't want to know. The splodges on the floor of your local cowshed will tell you all you need to know about both of them

Utter twaddle. You said the notice to quit may have delayed stadium improvements but it's quite clear that an organisation that did not own the stadium would not be spending money making improvements to it. Try reading what Len Silver says in his book. The point is you are always posting in here what a n accomplished Speedwáy journalist you are, but the function of a journalist is to uncover reliable information and explain it to his readers in clear and understandable terms, not to print nonsense then try to blame the reader because he doesn't know what you are talking about. E. I. Addio, Press And Publicity Officer, Neasden F.C.

I was using Davey, Rory and Kylmo as examples rather than specifics,to just make the point. I think there will inevitably be controversy and argument about those who just scrape in the list and those who are left just outside it. It will ble interesting to know what criteria they use or formula they use. If it's kept secret there will inevitably be cries of foul.

Davey is a difficult one, as is Peter Karisson. In virtually every EL team last year except Poole and arguably Belle Vue , Davey would at times be either floating around the third heatleader role or comfortably in it. The list will include 24 riders but can anybody nam e 23 others riders that are unarguably mo re capable heatleaders than Davey ? It seems to me that there are maybe -10 -15 definite hearleaders, then they are all much of a muchness. Ho w would you choose for example between Rory Schlein, Davey W att, and Joonas Kylmarpi ? They would all do a decent second string job but are hit and miss as heatleaders , who on a good night can go out and win vital races but also have off nights where they struggle to score anything like the points expected of a heatleader. I suspect that all those on the borderline between on the list and off it will be very contrversial. Another point is what happens if some on the heatleader list don't get picked ? Do they just not get jobs ?

For someone who claims to be a journalist you are very slapdash about your sources.. Alan Jones has already told you that the Defunct Stock Car track site has got it wrong. Len bought the stadium from Eddie Lesley. He then says in his book "We completed the purchase on 14th July 2000.........the next day I gave Mark Easron notice to quit." Obviously as a tennent Mark Easton would not be investing money in a stadium he didn't own. I have to say that although I am critical of Len in many ways as he is now but the way he bought that wreck of a stadium and made it into a decent Speedwáy venue is one of the really remarkable achievements in the whole of British Speedwáy history, equally remarkable is the way he started his Silver Ski company from scratch and turned ift into a profitable organsation able to provide healthy sponsorship to his Speedwáy track

If he can just give it a facelift and get it more or less back on the rails it will be something. I usuaiiy like to pop over there a few rimes a year but haven't done so this year because it has slowly become less attractive, but if t he new owner gives it a bit more oomph I would hope to make a few trips next and Iwishhim every success.

Before everyone gets carried away, what is the basis of your understanding ? Just your reading of the AGM statement or something more substantial ?

That is correct according to what Len says in his book.

Kenny Bjerre according to to the account that's going round .

I agree with Blazeaway. As one of his own Staff at Rye said to me a couple of years ago, he used to be one of the best but he has lost the plot and is still stuck in the 1980's. Len is a very single minded and determined man. At times that can be a good quality and certainly was when he bought the Rye House stadium, kicked out the stock cars and put it on its feet as a viable Speedwáy venue, a fantastic acchievement but in recent years his single mindedness seems to have made him a grumpy cantankerous old curmudgeon who doesn't know how to get on with people. Not exactly Mr Popularity at Kent by all accounts. I think Rye House is a lovely little stadium for Speedwáy on a summer evening. I really hope the new owners can get the track sorted and the stadium organised again. And some decent fish and chips once more. I look forward to going back there if the do.